Avalanche lose Game 1; Makar sits out

Colorado opened the Western Conference finals with a 4-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, May 20, after star defenseman Cale Makar was held out of Game 1. ESPN reported before the opener that Makar was improving but unavailable, and head coach Jared Bednar said the defenseman would miss the game. NHL.com’s series page lists Vegas ahead 1-0 after the result, with Game 2 set for Friday in Denver. ### When was Makar ruled out, and what was said about his status? ESPN reported on May 20 that Makar would sit out Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Vegas, citing sources who said he was improving but not ready to play. TSN and Yahoo’s pickup of the report said Colorado listed the defenseman as day-to-day and did not disclose the injury. (msn.com) Jared Bednar told reporters on Wednesday that Makar was out for the opener, according to multiple reports. Colorado did not provide a timetable for his return in the material surfaced Thursday. ### What did the loss look like without him? (msn.com) Vegas won Game 1 by a 4-2 score at Ball Arena, according to NHL game and series listings published Wednesday and Thursday. Hockey-Reference’s series page and Fox Sports’ game boxscore both show the Golden Knights taking the opener to move ahead 1-0 in the best-of-seven series. (msn.com) The Denver Post reported that Colorado’s offense lacked sharpness without Makar, while another Denver Post column said Vegas had the better goaltending, special teams and overall plan in the opener. Those assessments were attributed to postgame coverage, not to the team itself. (hockey-reference.com) ### How strong had Colorado looked before this series? NHL.com said Colorado entered the conference finals with an 8-1 playoff record after finishing first in the league in the regular season. Hockey-Reference lists the Avalanche at 55-16-11 in the regular season and shows them as the top seed from the Central Division entering the matchup with Vegas. (denverpost.com) That made Makar’s absence more notable because Colorado had reached the West final after losing only once in its first two rounds. ESPN’s pregame report framed his status as the immediate health question hanging over the series opener. (hockey-reference.com) ### What do we know about the schedule from here? NHL.com lists Game 2 for Friday, May 22, at 8 p.m. ET in Denver. The same schedule page shows Game 3 shifting to Las Vegas on May 24, with the series continuing on alternating dates through a potential Game 7 on June 1. (msn.com) The next concrete marker is Makar’s availability for Game 2. As of Thursday, the public reporting cited here said only that he was improving and day-to-day, while Vegas carried a 1-0 lead into Friday night’s game at Ball Arena. (msn.com) (nhl.com)